Readers will recall that last year's newsletter was a series of "Life Lessons", in tribute to my late mother. This year, I am happy to report that I am learning and re-learning new life lessons through the eyes of the next generation, my granddaughter. Like "My Mother's Legacy", these are lessons that serve me well as I apply them to mediation.

I’ve handled any number of mediations where the parties and counsel view prospects for settlement with optimism. Lately, I’m seeing more and more pre-mediation conferences being held in complicated cases or cases where the prospects of settlement seem less likely.

Mediation is a dynamic process. This can mean stepping back, leaning out, and adopting a process that empowers the parties to set their own agenda and seek outcomes that may greatly vary from the objectives set forth in the briefs by lawyers who are trained as advocates more than problem-solvers.

With respect to whether the daughter was bound by the plain language of the arbitration agreement, the Court had no trouble concluding she was not. The arbitration agreement specifically applied to claims made by authorized users of the account.

The International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR) gave its award for outstanding professional article to our own Art Hinshaw as well as Stephanie Cohen and Mark Morril, and to Lynn Cohn for a short article.

In line with this and our awareness of the importance of diversity, CEDR has signed up to the ‘Inclusive Culture Pledge’ launched by the EW Group[1], to take an active part in creating more inclusive cultures at work, in particular within the legal profession.

Like many of you, we are thrilled to see a session added to the program about “living room conversations,” where Section of Dispute Resolution Chair Ben Davis will speak about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his assassination. We agree with Ben about its importance and relevance, and we urge everyone to participate.

This project is designed to engage younger people in our field and the Section. If you see them at the conference, please introduce yourself and make them feel welcome. You will be able to recognize them as they will have special ribbons on their nametags

Some maintain that justice stems from God's will or command, while others believe that justice is inherent in nature itself. Still others believe that justice consists of rules common to all humanity that emerge out of some sort of consensus.

Disputes are generally considered to be disagreements that involve negotiable interests. Such issues can be settled through negotiation, mediation, or adjudication. They are generally short-term and, given the right process, lend themselves to the development of mutually satisfactory solutions.

Most people probably do not recognize a distinct difference between the terms "conflict" and "dispute." However, many conflict scholars do draw a distinction between the two terms. As is unfortunately common in this field, different scholars define the terms in different ways, leading to confusion.

This post provides sample papers to give faculty ideas about what you might assign your classes in the future and provide papers you might suggest as models to your students. You also might just enjoy reading them as stories.

Many colleagues wish they had students do these assignments earlier in the semester and discuss them in class. Brian Farkas really did this. He had his students interview arbitrators right after the first class and then discuss it in class soon afterward.